IBM Buys Red Hat

Probably the biggest talking point this week is the announcement that IBM intends to buy Red Hat Inc, purveyor of the open source Red Hat operating system and an entire ecosystem of products around it. The acquisition is interesting, firstly because of the attention it has garnered, but also for the implications to public cloud, open source and IBM’s business model. IBM is buying into the hybrid cloud model by bringing skills from Red Hat, while also attempting to demonstrate credibility to the market.

IBM of Old

The question is, can IBM manage it? I expect the news was met with a global collective groan and WTF moment, as IT specialists all around the globe try to imagine IBM’s highly corporate business model trying to align with a much more dynamic approach from Red Hat.

Everyone has an Opinion

Earlier this week I caught up with Martin Glassborow and Chris Mellor. We recorded a quick 10-minute podcast, asking questions, perhaps rather than answering them, on what this acquisition means. We specifically thought about storage, where as Martin points out, IBM has a product for every day of the week.

Have a listen and by all means give us your opinion. We are probably as bemused as everyone else.

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With 30+ years in IT, Chris has worked on everything from mainframe to open platforms, Windows and more. During that time, he has focused on storage, developed software and even co-founded a music company in the late 1990s. These days it's all about analysis, advice and consultancy.